Up to 300,000 commuters will find their daily journeys thrown into chaos for the next five days due to industrial action by the RMT.

Ministers criticised the strike - which will take place on the say-so of just 303 people - as doing “devastating” harm to passengers, communities and businesses.

The strike – which will affect Southern Rail trains in London, Kent, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey – is the first such action since the government introduced supposedly tough new union laws.

It is feared that the five-day strike was the unions' attempt to show the government their power has not been diminished by the new rules.

It prompted fears that other unions may follow suit. Both the TSSA and Aslef unions are already planning to ballot their own members over strike action on Southern, the country’s largest rail operator, in the coming weeks.

MPs tonight called for Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, to “consider every available option” to ensure that unions are not able to “cause chaos whenever they wish”. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, accused the unions of causing “needless pain” to the economy. Crispin Blunt, the Tory MP for Reigate, in Surrey, said the union’s conduct was “reckless in the extreme” and badly damaging the local economy. Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said their “fight is with the company and the government” and not passengers.

Trains have been disrupted for several weeks because of shorter industrial action and a shortage of staff, which Southern Rail has blamed on high levels of sickness.

In July, the company instigated an emergency timetable to try to stabilise the service. This week’s strike, believed to be the longest since a 12-day walkout in 1968, is over changes on trains which will stop conductors controlling the doors when the train arrives at the station.

Conductors claim it devalues their job and puts them at risk of redundancy. The strike was given the go-ahead after a ballot in April of just 393 staff.

MPs are furious at union bosses over the strike action

Paul Maynard, the rail minister, said: “This strike action from the RMT will do nothing other than cause yet more disruption and daily misery for passengers. It is deeply disappointing that the union bosses continue to overlook the impact they are having on the travelling public, and I strongly condemn this proposed action.

“There have been many issues with Southern Rail in recent months – but a strike like this helps no one.”

Ms Rudd, whose Hastings and Rye constituency is served by Southern Rail, criticised union bosses for their conduct in the dispute and said they were damaging Britain’s economy.

The Home Secretary said she has “serious concerns about the ongoing industrial dispute and the devastating impact it is having on workers, families, our communities and businesses”.

She urged the unions to call off the action, saying it will cause “needless pain and stress” when the “concerns over safety and jobs have already been addressed”.

This unjustified strike action from the RMT will do nothing other than cause five days of misery for passengers.Rail Minister Paul Maynard

Earlier this year, the Government toughened up the rules around strike action to insist that 50 per cent of members who are entitled to vote must do so in order for ballots on industrial action to be valid.

Although the latest RMT action is legal, Whitehall sources said it was a “disgrace” that an entire week of strike action can be forced through using a ballot of just under 400 guards. One source said: “This looks like a clear political statement designed to show that they can still bring entire transport networks to a standstill despite laws which are meant to stop this kind of thing from happening.”

Mr Blunt said: “The union’s behaviour is straight out of the 1970s playbook. This ridiculous dispute over who opens doors… just adds insult to the injuries that users of the line have had to put up with. The service has been so diabolical I’m not sure how we’ll tell how they’re on strike.”

He called on Mr Grayling to consider “every available option” to ensure that unions cannot continue to hold strikes on rail services. “Giving in to this behaviour is not sensible,” he said. “The Government should contemplate rapid acquisitions of driverless trains to make sure this cannot happen.”

Hundreds of thousands of journeys will be disrupted by this week's strikeCredit:
Scott Barbour

Bruce Williamson, a spokesman for RailFuture, a passenger group, said: “Clearly, the Government needs to intervene and start banging heads together. “This isn’t just going to impact Southern customers, but the whole of the London network. And it doesn’t look good for a city, that it can’t keep it’s trains running.”

“This could be a real opportunity for the new transport secretary Chris Grayling, but he has yet to comment publically. He needs to show that he is on the case and that he is aware of the problems.”

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said: “This action has been forced on us by the arrogance and inaction of Govia Thameslink [which runs the Southern franchise] and the Government, who have made it clear that they have no interest in resolving this dispute or in tackling the daily chaos on Southern.

“Our fight is with the company and the government who have dragged this franchise into total meltdown. We share the anger and frustration of passengers and we cannot sit back while jobs and safety are compromised on these dangerously overcrowded trains.”